Can SUEPO sue EPO? It now seems so ...

Without the benefit of a good command of legal Dutch, Merpel struggles to understand the content of the document to which she alludes. It is a judgment, dated 17 February, of the Gerechtshof den Haag (this appears to be an appellate court based in The Hague). The action before it was brought by EPO staff union SUEPO against the European Patent Office and the court has, it seems, allowed an appeal against a decision of the Rechtbank den Haag of 14 January 2014 (here, but only in Dutch), lifted the immunity of the EPO, ordering it to rescind several recent amendments to the organisation's staff regulations. Given the principles at stake and the fact that the EPO is financially well-resourced, an appeal may not unreasonably be predicted.

This ruling, which is said to apply only to The Hague branch of the EPO -- this being presumably the bit that lies within the court's jurisdiction -- is believed to conclude that the EPO

• must stop blocking Suepo.org emails within seven days,
• may not dictate the length and type of industrial actions and, 
• within 14 days, must allow the union to enter into collective bargaining.

This moggy understands that an English version of this decision is currently being prepared. Once she has sight of it, she will be able to speak with more confidence about what it actually says as well as what the ruling might mean for EPO governance, the position of the Boards of Appeal, the tasks faced by the Administrative Council and the morale of the organisation.

You can access this decision here or download it here